East Ballina, Shelly Beach and Shaws Bay

East Ballina deserves it's own page as it has glorious pristine beaches as well as the Richmond River, not to mention room to breathe . It's a 'young family holiday heaven'. There is some great holiday accommodation , both houses and apartments.

Grandview is just up the hillfrom Shelly Beach and has a swimming pool on-site anda small gym

Shelly Beach is the main beach for East Ballina but there are others such as Lighthouse Beach which is next to the North Wall of the Richmond River. Lighthouse Beach is well protected with the North Wall protecting the south end of the beach and the headland protecting the north of the beach so it is very safe for swimming. It has a surf club and the beach is patrolled.

Surfing is popular here with great rights when there is a south-easterly swell wrapping around the wall - when the swell is from the north, there are great lefts coming around the headland so you're always in with a chance.

If the conditions are right you can enter behind the break from the wall. Save your self a lot of paddling - park at the Coast Guard Tower and walk along the wall. This is a good beach for body boarders. There are always as many body boarders as surfers. The vibe is friendly with a regular core of locals.

Shelly Beach is more open than Light House Beach but the southern end by the Surf Club house is quite safe and well patrolled by the local lifesavers. There is a large square rock pool for the kiddies that has been carved out of the rock platform that gets refreshed by the incoming tide. Many more rockpools provide hours of interesting exploration of the varied sea life.

There is a walking and bike path that runs from Shelly Beach all the way around the headland along Lighthouse Beach then along the rock wall by the river all the way into Ballina. A late afternoon walk along the seawall to catch the sunset is very romantic and you may see the local dolphin pods feeding and cruising at the head of the river.

Surf Report for Shelly Beach: This is a big open beach with many rips and a sand bars. When it works it is sensational, but you have to take it day by day.

Shaws Bay Holiday Park
right next to the river has cabins and is in a great spot with river beaches, pristine water and the Shaws Bay Hotel or 'Shawsy' to the locals - a great place for a relaxing with a drink overlooking the water or for lunch and dinner and live bands every week.

There is a convenience store and fast food outlet that serves tasty, healthy food like Nori rolls, Chicken wraps and the like.

There are other activities available such as canoe hire and surf lessons so you don't even need to leave East Ballina if you don't want to.

The Caravan Parklies right next door

So have a look at East Ballina as a holiday base and check out the rest of Ballina below